Internal-combustion locomotive



Sept. 21 1926.

, l 1,600,366 P. O. ROWLANDS INTERNAL couBUsTIoN LocoMoTIvE l Filed sept. 19, Y1924 2 sheets-sheet 2 1. J #ron Y pecgc). Rowlands lll my invention into effect'.

Patented Sept. 21, 1926.

- 1,660,366@ PATENToFF1cE. -v

PERCY ocTAvIUs ROWLANDS, or niitiviiiveiiliivi, ENGLAivD.

INtiERivAii-CMBUSTION toooMo'rIvE.

Appucati'n med september 19, 15124, 'serial No. 738,662, 'and inofeafBritinseptinber 27,- 1e21 This invention has reference to locomotivesadapted torun 'on rails and which are propelled by internal "combustion engines;

and has for its object to enable a locomotive to travel in either direction with equal facility, and so that thev driver, whilst seated in drivingV position, shall valw's'fays l'face the direction in which the' locomotive is moving.

Broadly my invention comprises, in combination, a'fram'e with flanged wheels and a pair of axles; a motive power unit c 'onsisting of an internal vcombiistion engine and driving shaft, said power unit being-pivotflly oi' revolubly mounted on said locomotive-frame; and means Vwhereby operative connection between the driving shaft of vsaid power unit and either of; the locomotive axlesfmay be effected at will for the purpose of 'reversing the direction of'm'otion of thev locomotive. A

In carrying out my invention, I prefer to arrange for a road or farm tractor, pretf erably of the F o`rdson type, to be mounted in a. simple'and Aconvenient manner upon a frame fitted with flanged wliee'ls, lthe.

axles of which are connected Vtogether by cranks and coupling rods', so as' to -run vupon rails as a locomotive. gea-r changes provided on the tractor, when used as a locomotive, will be usablewhenvr travelling in 'either direction without s pecial -reversing gears l being fitted for this purpose, as farmer road tractors can only normally use one gear-ratio when runningy in thebackward direction. l 1

I will further describe my invention with the `aid of the accompanying sheet-s of ex planatory' drawings, whichY illustrate, by way of example only, `one mode of carrying In said ,drawingsz- Fig. 1 'is an elevatiomand Fig. 2 is a plan of a locomotive embodying my improvements.

F ig. 3 is a section Idrawn to an enlarged scale as compared with the precedingviews,` and taken as on line A-'-B- `-G-D, Fig. 2.

Fig.' 4 is a portion of Fig. 3, taken at right angles thereto'.

There is provided atractor trom'which the 'tour road wheels 'and fronta'xle lhave been removed, :the body 1` V(comprisingl engine, cra-tdi shaft casing, gearbox, driving shaft 'and casing, together wzvithj all control mechanism vand 'pipey connections, fran-iator,l

Therefore, all theA` lever+connecting spindle 21.

fuel and waterptaiiks, cooling arnet cetera) being revo'li'ibly moiinted, as single unit,

upon a locomotivedrame-Q 'provided with lan'geddriving wh'eel's- 3 mounted on a-'Xles L1 and connected by coupling rods `5 'and cranks 5a.' Said tractor l is mounted on a i plate '6 vwhereto is attache-,d the aid of aV flange 7 'a tubular vrpivot pin 8 locatedne'ar the centre of the length and width-ofthe tractor vbody v1; alsoattache'd to theunder. side of said tractor-carryingplate- Gfare `c'on ical vrollersfl y(Fig. 2) which are arranged to run on a rollerlring-10-;` flange 7 is" Y adapted to revolve upon'the upper' of a pair of lbearings 411, 11, (Fig. carried vby transverse channel members "-12 off the loco-` motive-frame 2. 'Thus' Said-,plate 6 with tractor body 1 maybe 'turned Aat will'up'on said pivot pin Sand rolleririiiglfiii 'a horizontal plane.

On eachlocomotive axle 4c' is alii'redfa'spur gear wheel 13, said wheels being disposed on opposite sides of the longitudinal 'cent-re line between the driving wheels'. Inter'. mediate spur wheels 111 adapted'to mesh- With said ax'le'spur jwheel's'- 13 are 'slidably mounted on shafts ll carried on the loco# motive-frame 2.

Upon an end of' the tractor driving Ashaft 16 is secured a spur gearf wheel 17 which, when' the tractor body 1 is locked in,l a central position on' the vlor'igitudinal 'axis' of the vlocomotive-frame and with its driving shaftl 16 parallel with the axles '11,'vvill meshwi-th one or other' of lsaid intermediate spur Wheels 111.y f

their reception iny the roller-ring! '10,"said pins 18 lbeing acti'iate'd by Ineans'of levers 20 connected by a' spindle 21' wl'iic'h-is sfu-pr#` portedby "atraznsv-erse casting 22 (Fig. 3) secured to' the 4underside of 'tlie -tractorcarfries-plete 6l VSaid pins" `18 are simultaneously moved into or' out of Yengagenient ywith"said roller-v ring 'passages 19 by means o`f a. l1`fand 'lever 23 the lower endxofwhich is'allixed to said The sliding of an intermediate wheel` 124. is eftected'fby 'thejaidj` olf' a 'fork 24E QFigz 3)' which yengages,af*groeve prd-j vided in. .the .'whee'lboss; said ork'fgbei d otally-carried spindle 26, whereto a hand lever 27 is attached.

To enable the locomotive to move with facility in a direction contrary to that in which it has been travelling, intermediate spur wheel 14 is slid out of mesh with spur wheel 17, said tractor locking pins 18 are withdrawn from .roller-ring passages 19,

-and the tractor body 1 revolved half a turn on its central pivot pin 8 when the spur` nected at will to the driving shaft 16 of the tractor 1, Yso reversing the direction of motion of the locomotive, whilst enabling the driver to. always face the direction in which the locomotive is moving.

AsV the intermediate wheels 14 are arranged to slide along their shafts 15 Von which they are free to rotate, the gear wheel 17 of the driving shaft 16 of tractor 1 may be engaged'with either of said intermediate gear wheels14 without likelihood of dama ge to its teeth; and, in operation, before the locking mechanism-1s released the intermediate wheel 14 will be slid on its shaft 15 to disengaging position. Y

Thus, when the locking mechanism is released, the tractor 1 .may be swung around half a turn to a vlocating stop 28, (Fig. 2) in which position the gear wheel 17 upon the tractor-driving shaft i6 will be directly over the-corresponding gear wheel 13 fixed upon the locomotive axle 4l at that end of the frame, and the intermediate wheel 14 may' then beslid into engagement, and the tractor locked rigidly to the frame 2.

Said intermediate wheels 14 serve a double purpose of transmitting` motion from the tractor-driving shaft, 16 to a locomotive-V frame axle 4 in the correct direction, and also, owing vto their being adapted `to be slid out 0f the way, facilitate the operation of swinging the tractor body 1 out of engagement with one of the locomotive axles 4 and into engagement with the other. Thus it is rendered possible for both the outward and return journeys to be performed whilst the driver is in 'the'most'advantageous position to control the locomotive and see where he is going.

When operating in the forward direction, the locomotive may be reversed by means of the reverse gear normally providedin the tractor gear box, but as this' usually consists of but one gear ratio, it is only suitable in the case of a locomotive for moving very short distances, especially as the driver whilst operating the controls cannotvreadily see where he is going.

The operations of locking andunlocking the tractor body 1, sliding the intermediate gear wheel 14 out of engagement, swinging the tractor body half around to its stop 28, and engaging its driving shaft 16 with the opposite locomotive-frame axle 4 through the gearing described, will preferably be arranOed to be performed in correct sequence by tie driver without leaving his seat, whilst the engine is running and the tractor gear lever is in neutral position; but alternative ly, these opera-tions may be independently carried out.

In order to prevent an intermediate gear` wheel 14 from being slid into engagement with gear wheel 17 on the driving shaft 16 of the tractor 1 before the latter is locked to the locomotive frame, there is provided on shaft 26 (Figs. 1 and 3) an arm 29 which moves synchronously with the gear-shiftingv l lever 27, so that when the gears are slid into mesh the upper rend of armV 29 moves behind a locking-pin 18, Consequently, before the locking pins 18 may be withdrawn from roller-ring passages 19, the inl termediate wheel 14 will have to be moved to its inoperative position by lever 27, the check or stop arm 29 simultaneously moving out of the path of the locking pin 18. Conversely, locking pins 18 must be pushed into their passages 19 of roller-ring 10 be- Y.

fore arm 29 is free'to move again into alignment with vpin 18.

It may be preferable, as an alternative to sliding said intermediate wheels 14 along their shafts 15, to engage same permanently with the gear wheels 13 of the locomotiveframe axles 4, and, by adopting teeth of sufficiently coarse pitch chamfered on their entering edges, to engage them with the gear wheel 17 on the tractor-driving shaft 16 having similarly chamfered teeth, proyiding adequate tooth clearance is allowed It will, of course, be necessary either to lock the differential gear on the tractordriving shaft,'or otherwise render itr inoperative.. i

The braking of the locomotive is effected by means of a hand-wheel 30 through rocking arm v31, link 32, bell crank 33, yand jointed link 34 whichris connected to one Y end of pivotedl lever 35 the other end of which lever engages in a slot 36 providedin .the head `of a central rod 37., The lower end'of -said central rod 37 is rotatably connected to a sliding collar and cap38, which collar andcap are adapted toslide on tubularpivot pin 8. Engaging in groove 39 of said 'sliding' .collar and cap 35,15 a ferked lever 40 connected at 4l by link 42 to toggle levers 43 which apply the swinging brake shoes 44.

Said tubular pivot pin 8 is provided with a slot 45, opposite slot 36, of sufficient length to provide clearance for the movement of lever 35 which passes through it.

Curved hand rails 46 are provided at either end of the locomotive frame, by means of which the driver when seated in driving position on seat 47,7may cause the tractor to swing as desired.

A screw 48 is provided to lock hand wheel 30.

Whilst the'invention has been described mainly in relation to its preferred forms, it will be obvious that modifications may be made without departing from its spirit and scope as defined by the claims.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters-Patent is 1. A locomotive adapted to run on rails, comprising, in combination, a frame, a pair of axles supported by said frame, flanged wheels on said axles, a motive power unit including a road tractor from which the road Wheels and front axlehave been re-k moved, said tractor being pivotally and revolubly mounted on the locomotive frame and having a combustion engine and driving shaft, a toothed gear wheel mounted on the driving shaft of the tractor, toothed gear wheels mounted on the axles of the locomotive frame, a pair of slidable intermediate toothed gear wheels by the aid of which operative connection may be effected between the gear wheel of the tractor driving shaft or one or the other of the gear Wheels on the axles of the locomotive frame for the purpose of reversing the direction of motion of the locomotive.

2. A locomotive adapted to run on rails, comprising, in combination, a locomotive frame and wheels, a pair of axles, a toothed gear wheel on each of said axles, a pair of intermediate displaceably mounted toothed gear wheels meshing with said axle gear wheels, and, pivotally mounted on said frame, a motive power unit consisting of an internal combustion -engine and driving shaft,` and a toothed gear wheel mounted on ysaid driving shaft which by the aid of the said pivotal mounting and displacement of said intermediate gear wheels, may operatively engage, at will` either of said gear wheels on the said axles of the locomotive frame.

3. In a locomotive as claimed in the preceding claim, a brake or brakes operable by the driver in an angular position of the power unit relative to th-e locomotive-frame, through mechanism associated with an operating rod which is disposed on the pivotal center of said power unit.

4. In a locomotive as claimed in claim 2, means designed to prevent operative connection between the motive power unit and locomotive-frame unless and until said motive power unit. is locked in the position desired; substantially as described.

5. A locomotive adapted to run on rails, comprising, in combination, a locomotive frame and wheels. a pair of axles, a toothed ,y

gear wheel on each of said axles, a pair of intermediate toothed gear wheels capable of meshing with said axle gear wheels; and, pivotally mounted on said frame, a motive power unit consisting of an internal combustion engine and driving shaft, and a toothed gear wheel mounted on said driving shaft, which toothed wheel. by the aid of said pivotal mounting an-d in combination with either of said axle gear wheels and intermediate gear wheels, may operate either of said locomotive axles.

In testimony whereof I aflixV my signature,V

PERCY OCTAVIUS ROWLANDS. 

